The morning fog had only just begun lifting over the Castle when a sharp, whining roar cut through the air.
A Brotherhood vertibird descended toward the outer courtyard, Minutemen guards snapping to alert positions until they spotted the Brotherhood markings and relaxed—slightly.
Sarah stepped out from the command room, coat half-buttoned and datapad in hand.
A Knight climbed out, helmet under his arm.
Knight:"Commander Sarah! We have a delivery for you."
Sarah frowned."Delivery?"
The Knight jerked a thumb toward the vertibird.
Knight:"Your General was found wandering the catwalks at Libertalia.Cold, annoyed, and… uh… very, very done with everything."
Sarah blinked.
Sarah:"…Huh. That's odd.Why was Nate suddenly all the way out there?"
The Knight shrugged.
Knight:"No idea, ma'am. He waved us down during our patrol route.Said his 'ride left him.'"
A small smirk tugged at the corner of Sarah's mouth.
Sarah (quietly, to herself):"Beluga… what did you do this time?"
Nate Steps Out
The vertibird ramp lowered, and there stood Nate, wrapped in a borrowed BOS blanket, hair windblown, coat scorched at the sleeve from the earlier mini-nuke blast, and with a look of absolute exasperation.
He stomped down the ramp.
Nate:"Sarah. We need to talk."
Sarah raised a brow.
Sarah:"That bad?"
Nate threw his hands up.
Nate:"I got teleported in. But not teleported out. I walked half the damn ship. Then a Brotherhoo— the Brotherhood—rescued me. Do you know how humiliating that is?"
A chuckle escaped Sarah before she could stop it.
Sarah:"Aw, you poor thing. Do you want coffee? Or therapy?"
Nate glared.
Nate:"I want a new extraction protocol."
Around them, Minutemen exchanged amused looks. Even Sturges snorted from atop a turret.
Sarah gently clapped a hand on Nate's shoulder.
Sarah:"Let's get you checked in and warmed up. Then you can tell me what Beluga did."
Nate sighed heavily.
Nate:"You're gonna love this story…"
The meeting room still smelled faintly of gunpowder and ocean salt from Nate's scorched coat as he finished recounting what happened at Libertalia.
Sarah sat across from him, arms folded, brows tight with concern.
Nate:"Libertalia's clear, but… Sarah, it wasn't a battle. It was an execution site.Ash piles. Corpses. Raiders cut down even after they fled. Beluga… she wasn't following Institute combat doctrine. She was enjoying it."
Sarah's jaw tightened—Beluga's behavior sounding dangerously close to M16A1's creeping corruption profile she had studied.
Before she could respond—the door slammed open.
A breathless radio operator nearly tripped inside.
Radio Operator:"General! Commander! We've got an unidentified vertibird inbound from the West—fast! It's not Brotherhood, and not one of the Division birds either!"
Sarah's expression snapped sharp.
Sarah:"Show me."
On the Artillery Platform
Cold winter wind whipped across the Castle's walls. Snowflakes stung their faces as Sarah rushed up the ramp to the artillery platform. She lifted her binoculars, scanning the storm-gray horizon.
Through the swirling snow, a shadow grew larger.
A Vertibird—but wrong.Not Brotherhood steel plating.Not the cargo-stripped Division variant.
This one carried the unmistakable Enclave frame design—sleek, predatory, and old-world advanced.
But the Enclave logo on the tail was violently crossed out in red paint, like a warning or a rejection.
Sarah muttered under her breath.
Sarah:"Enclave airframe… but marked as hostile to itself? What the hell?"
Down below in the radio tower, Nate's voice boomed through the Castle PA system:
Nate:"Attention, unidentified Vertibird.Make yourself known or we will be forced to open fire."
A burst of static—Then a frantic voice broke through.
Radio:"WAIT—WAIT! It's me! MacCready! Don't shoot!I know this is a crap idea flying in a winter storm—but I've got people onboard who insist on seeing Commander Sarah!"
Sarah's eyes widened slightly.
Nate looked up at her from the radio room window.She gave a single firm nod.
Nate turned back to the mic:
Nate:"Very well. Proceed to the Castle vertipad.Land slow and clean."
The strange Vertibird dipped its nose and began circling down, its rotors kicking up a spiral of snow and frost over the battlements.
As it approached, Minutemen tensed with rifles ready; turrets locked targets; artillery crews watched with their hands hovering over firing triggers.
Sarah stood tall on the platform, coat snapping in the wind, watching the craft descend…wondering who could possibly arrive on an ex-Enclave gunship—and why they were looking for her.
The unfamiliar Vertibird touched down hard on the Castle's pad, engines whining in the winter wind. As the dust settled, Sarah, Nate, and several Minutemen raised their weapons—until MacCready jumped out waving both arms.
MacCready:"Don't shoot! I brought… guests!"
Four white-haired T-Dolls stepped out behind him in formation—sleek, cold-eyed, heavily armed. Even at a glance, Sarah recognized the make.
Sarah (quietly):"…Neo-Soviet models. Pre-War.But how—?"
Her words trailed off when she noticed one Doll lying on the deck, hog-tied like a trussed-up brahmin, thrashing in annoyance.
The leading Doll stepped forward, heels clicking sharply.
AN-94 (White Husky):"Commander Sierra. We are Task Force DEFY.We seek the last Division commander capable of issuing universal Doll directives."
Sarah's eyes narrowed."Then you already knew who I was."
AN-94 followed her gaze toward the tied-up Doll.
AN-94:"That is RPK-16, designation 'White Fox.'She required… restraint.To prevent further incidents."
MacCready groaned, running a hand down his face.
MacCready:"Yeah… about those incidents."
He pointed at RPK-16, who smiled innocently despite being wrapped like a human-sized burrito.
MacCready:"Sarah, remember Megaton? Undetonated atomic bomb, weird cult, whole town built around it?"
Sarah:"Yes, I helped the Lone Wanderer disarm it. Why?"
MacCready:"That Doll tried to finish what the Children of Atom started."
RPK-16 (cheerfully):"Come on~~ The children asked so nicely!It felt rude to deny—"
AN-94 (sharp):"AK-12. AK-15. Silence her."
The two tall Dolls stepped forward without hesitation.
AK-12 & AK-15 (in perfect sync):"With pleasure."
AK-12 slapped a magnetic gag in place.AK-15 tightened the restraints another two notches just to be sure.
RPK-16 made a muffled, offended squeal.
Sarah exhaled slowly.
Sarah:"…MacCready. Why do you keep bringing me problems with legs?"
MacCready:"Hey—they kidnapped me! I'm just the delivery boy!"
According to Defy team, they originally deployed in 2076, which were a Neo-Soviet infiltration unit sent to Anchorage, Alaska to support the PLA offensive by sabotaging American defenses. But before their mission even began, they were betrayed—struck down by their own KGB handlers to prevent their capture.
Their transport craft plunged into the frozen sea, entombing the Dolls in ice for over two hundred years.
When the ice finally broke loose and drifted south, the wreck washed up along the coast of New California.
DEFY awakened to a world they didn't recognize—one where their nation no longer existed, and the war they were built for was ancient history.
Pragmatic and focused, they temporarily aligned themselves with the New California Republic, gathering intel on the rising threat of the so-called Caesar's Legion. But before the First Battle of Hoover Dam, DEFY intercepted a fragmented radio transmission:
"…Commander confirmed. Tactical Dolls deployed… direct control node not required… Washington D.C… Capital Wasteland…"
A human commander capable of directing Dolls complete independent and without a Sangvis or IOP command node.
Such a person should not exist.
DEFY chose their new mission instantly.
They stole a Vertibird from NCR control—an old Enclave craft stored at the abandoned Mariposa Military Base—and flew east. The trail eventually led them to a man in the Capital Wasteland: MacCready, spotted playing with his kid. He wasn't the commander they sought, but he knew one.
That is how DEFY arrived in the Commonwealth.
After some initial tension, DEFY explained their real mission:They were seeking the last remaining commander capable of directing Dolls without a command node—someone like the legendary G&K commanders from Europe.
They hoped to find new purpose under such a leader.
Sarah snorted.
Sarah: "Why not return to your own country? Your 'Mother Russia' comrades should be—oh wait. Right. It's been two hundred years. Even feral ghouls might've forgotten you."
DEFY's reaction was instant, explosive, and unified:
DEFY (all four, shouting): "HELL. NO. We take NO orders from old fossils!"
The Minutemen jumped at the sudden volume. Sarah just raised an eyebrow, amused.
Sarah pinches the bridge of her nose as Nate stop approach to sarah, still smelling like sea salt and rust from Libertalia.
Sarah: "Sorry, Nate, for all the trouble. I need to bring DEFY Team to Spectacle Island for more detailed checks on their specs. And I'm very sure the Brotherhood is going to demand an explanation on why an ex-Enclave Vertibird just landed in your Castle."
She pats his shoulder, giving him the tired but mischievous smile only Sarah can manage.
Sarah: "So… just tell them I stole it from the Enclave during the Capital battle. Technically true. Mostly."
Nate just sighs—half relieved she's taking responsibility, half dreading Maxson's signature judgemental stare.
Sarah turns sharply to Team 404, gesturing at the Vertibird.
Sarah: "404! Give that bird a paint job. Something that screams pre-war U.S. military. No Brotherhood logos, no Enclave markings, and definitely none of that stupid big 'E' symbol."
UMP9 brightens instantly.UMP9: "Ooooh! Custom paint job? Make it look vintage? Like a museum piece but angrier?"
UMP45: "Just don't paint it neon yellow again."
416 (deadpan): "Nothing neon. Nothing fluorescent. Nothing that glows."
RO635: "We'll make it respectable, Commander."
404 snaps into formation, moving toward the Vertibird like a swarm of overly enthusiastic mechanics.
Meanwhile…
DEFY falls in behind Sarah as she walks toward the Minutemen patrol boat.
Their gait is stiff, synchronized—too synchronized. Like freshly activated dolls following their handler without a single question.
They trail behind her like baby ducks following their mother.
White Mastiff (AK-15) tilts her head, watching the waves with predatory calm.
AK-12 quietly records everything: wind direction, troop positions, hull shape.
AN-94 stays closest to Sarah, almost protectively, her emotions flickering under the surface.
RPK-16) hums softly, curious about the engine noise of the patrol boat.
Sarah glances over her shoulder and sighs.
Sarah: "Girls… you can relax. You don't have to march like you're about to invade Norway."
The DEFY team all pause—simultaneously.
AK-12: "…We will attempt to adjust our formation, Commander Sarah."
The Minutemen patrol boat crunches against the shoreline. The salty wind whips across the empty island as Sarah leads DEFY toward the small engineering outpost Mayling and the Dolls built months prior.
Inside the hangar, Mayling is already waiting—sleeves rolled, toolbox open, holographic diagnostic plates humming.She doesn't even greet Sarah. She stares at DEFY like a wolf examining unfamiliar prey.
Mayling: "...These aren't IOP frames. Not Sangvis Ferris either."
She circles White Mastiff (AK-15) first, scanning her skeletal joint structure, tapping the armored plating with her knuckles.
Mayling: "Reinforced polymer alloy… not in any IOP catalog."She moves to AN-94, pulling up a data interface.Mayling: "Neural mesh architecture is… decentralized? No central firing-control unit?"
She freezes.
Then looks at Sarah—eyes wide.
Mayling: "Commander… these girls can engage targets without waiting for a field commander to authorize fire."
Sarah folds her arms, confirming without a word.
Mayling: "So they decide on their own. Against Dolls… and humans. This is beyond independent combat AI—this is battlefield autonomy."
AK-12 tilts her head, unbothered by being dissected verbally.
AK-12: "Our design intention is optimal efficiency. Hesitation compromises mission success."
Mayling shoots Sarah a look that could melt steel.
Mayling: "Where the hell did you dig them up? Even Sangvis wouldn't dare build something with this level of autonomous aggression."
Sarah exhales slowly.
She gestures toward DEFY.
Sarah: "I didn't find these girls.They were already out there… buried, abandoned, or left unfinished after the War.I activated them because I need specialists who can operate without constant oversight."
AK-15 smirks faintly.
AK-15 (White Mastiff): "We excel at missions others hesitate to undertake."
Sarah continues, tone firm:
Sarah:"IOP Dolls are bound by safety protocols. Sangvis Dolls are bound by Elise's directives. DEFY? They're… free. As long as follow mission parameter, too free."
Mayling looks at the four Dolls again—this time not as machines, but as potential threats.
Mayling: "Sarah…Autonomous Dolls with no firing-control limiters aren't assets. They're a loose cannon—with hands."
AK-12 smiles faintly.
AK-12: "We are loyal to Commander Sarah. That is sufficient."
Mayling: "For now. But their design philosophy is complete different. Someone built them to bypass every standard restriction ever made on Android combat behavior."
Sarah walks to the center of the workspace and taps the table, projecting a Minutemen map of the Commonwealth.
Sarah:"Our objective stays the same: Stop the Institute before they escalate the surface war. Defend our people. Unify the Commonwealth under the Minutemen banner. We can't do that while the Institute keeps abducting civilians and deploying Synth infiltrators keep causing fear."
She glances at DEFY.
Sarah: "And if the Institute is experimenting with AI similar to these girls… then we're already far behind."
Mayling looks at the diagnostic results one last time, face pale.
Mayling:"Commander… these Dolls were built for a level of war this Commonwealth isn't ready for."
AN-94 steps forward, posture perfectly straight, voice calm but edged with sincerity.
AN-94:"If you fear we may go rogue, Commander, you may order us to initiate a Loyalty-Test Execution Program. It is an internal protocol. A proof of allegiance. To your cause."
Mayling's eyes widen—she's never heard a Doll volunteer something that extreme.
Before AN-94 can say more, Sarah raises a hand, expression hardening.
Sarah:"No. Absolutely not."
Sarah steps closer to AN-94, her tone shifting from stern to resolute authority.
Sarah:"My Dolls are semi-independent for a reason. I don't chain minds with fear. I don't demand blind obedience like some pre-war communist bureaucrat shouting 'loyalty for the party.'"
She scoffs softly.
Sarah:"What utter bullshit."
AK-12 smirks approvingly. Even AK-15 straightens a little.
Sarah continues, voice firm but surprisingly gentle.
Sarah:"As long as you don't hinder my objectives…As long as you don't threaten innocent people…You will have freedom under my command. Not punishment disguised as loyalty."
RPK-16, still tied like a misbehaving fox, tilts her head.
RPK-16:"So no self-flagellation? No ideological purity tests? Damn… you lead looser than most cults."
Sarah:"I'm not your cult. I'm your Commander—And I trust my Dolls until they give me a reason not to."
AN-94 lowers her head respectfully.
AN-94:"Understood, Commander Sarah.Your leadership protocol is… noted."
After the day of DEFY introduction to sarah's rest of the dolls, things get settle down a bit but not without some bumps, The east firing range on Spectacle Island echoed with heavy-caliber gunfire.
AK-15 ("White Mastiff") fired tight bursts that punched straight through rusted ship plating, while AK-12 ("White Wolf") calmly adjusted her optics.
AK-12:"Two clicks left. Wind shear from the bay."
AK-15:"Acknowledged."
They had the range to themselves—until AR Team arrived down the wooden steps from the lighthouse.
M4A1, AR15, and SOPMOD II approached with rifles slung—friendly at first.
SOPMOD II (waving):"Hiiii DEFY~! We heard the range was free! Mind if we—"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
AK-15's burst shredded three steel plates in a row.
M4A1 blinked, impressed despite herself.
M4A1:"…Impressive firepower."
AK-12 gave the team a polite but icy look.
AK-12:"This time slot is assigned to Task Force DEFY.You may wait."
AR15's eyebrow twitched.
AR15:"Oh?You must be new here."
AK-15 slowly turned.
AK-15:"And you must be the ones who break down without a commander overseeing every shot.Cute."
SOPMOD II:"OHHHH—BURNNNN!"
AR15:"SOPMOD—stop hyping them up!"
AR15 stepped forward, getting too close.
AR15:"Listen, you Siberian snow huskies—this island belongs to the Minutemen and us the division.Show some damn respect."
AK-12 didn't blink, but her tone dropped several degrees.
AK-12:"We have more confirmed combat operations than your team has maintenance logs.Respect is earned."
AK-15 rested her hand on her rifle.
AK-15:"If you want to test capability—we can arrange live fire."
M4A1, normally calm, tensed as well.
M4A1:"AR15.Stand down."
AR15 ignored her.
AR15:"They show up one week and think they're elite?Try lasting through Sangvis Ferris without crying—"
AK-15:"We lasted through KGB betrayal and two centuries in ice.Try again."
Static cracked in the air—one wrong move and the range would explode into a firefight.
Grizzly Notices the Disaster Incoming
Nearby, Grizzly MkV was cleaning her weapon when she saw the posture shift.
Grizzly:"Uh oh...—NOPE."
She dropped everything and sprinted toward the main shack.
Grizzly (shouting):"COMMANDER! You're needed at the range—NOW!"
After few minute tense stare from both AR and DEFY, Sarah arrived in seconds, boots crunching on gravel.She didn't yell.She didn't threaten.She just stood between them—the atmosphere snapping cold and silent.
Sarah:"Enough."
Instantly, DEFY and AR Team straightened like scolded cadets.
Sarah turned first to AR Team.
Sarah:"This island is a shared facility.You follow posted schedules.Clear?"
AR15 muttered.
AR15:"…Yes, Commander."
M4A1 nodded respectfully.
Then Sarah faced DEFY.
Sarah:"And you four—You want integration?Starting a turf war is a bad first impression."
AK-12 bowed slightly.
AK-12:"Understood, Commander."
AK-15 exhaled through her nose.
AK-15:"This unit acknowledges the reprimand."
Sarah sighed.
Sarah:"Good.Shared range.Cooperate.Or I'll run both squads through joint drills until your servos cry."
SOPMOD II:"Yay~Team bonding time!!"
AR15:"…This is going to be awful."
AK-15:"You have no idea."
The joint shooting competition between AR Team and DEFY was underway—an uneasy but controlled rivalry echoing across Spectacle Island's firing range. While rounds cracked in the distance, RPK-16 quietly slipped away from the group, padding across the sand toward Commander Sarah's improvised office hut.
She peeked her head in, almost childlike in her curiosity.
RPK-16: "Commander… may I ask something? DEFY says you've worked with the G&K commander before. In the U.S. branch. Is that true?"
Sarah paused mid-holotable calibration, letting out a slow breath as old memories resurfaced.
Sarah: "Yeah… it's true. We met twice. Both times during hell."
RPK-16 tilted her head, listening.
Sarah: "The first time was at the United Nations Building, pre-war. World representatives were trying to figure out what to do after the first nuke fell. Before any plan was made, LMB—Last Man Battalion mercs—revolted. They turned the whole UN complex into a warzone."
Her voice hardened.
Sarah: "Division agents and JTF stormed the place. I was with the first wave. We couldn't beat LMB outright—but thanks to the G&K commander and his Dolls, holding their ground long enough—we managed to extract several world leaders. They bought precious minutes we didn't deserve."
RPK-16 listened silently, awe creeping into her features.
Sarah continued.
Sarah: "The second time… New York had already fallen. I'd been mauled during the retreat. G&K's commander found me and pulled me out. That's when I was… rebuilt."She flexed her right arm subtly—servo motors humming under synth-grown tissue.Sarah: "Right arm, both legs, some organs—replaced with Tactical-Doll grade parts. I owed him more than I could repay."
RPK-16's expression fell slightly.
RPK-16: "And what happened… after?"
Sarah's eyes dimmed.
Sarah: "…He was shot. A sniper. Center mass. No med supplies left, no evac. While he was bleeding out, he handed me all his G&K data… and every command code for his Dolls. Told me to protect them. To give them purpose. And then…"
She exhaled.
Sarah: "He was gone before I finished the sentence."
RPK-16 stepped closer, her voice soft.
RPK-16: "That explains why you treat Dolls the way you do. Not tools… but people."
Sarah smiled faintly.
Sarah: "Yeah. Because someone showed me Dolls were worth fighting for."
Outside, a burst of cheering erupted—AR Team and DEFY finishing their final volley.
RPK-16 straightened.
RPK-16: "Thank you for sharing that, Commander. I'll… keep it in confidence."
She departed with a respectful nod, leaving Sarah alone with ghosts she had not spoken of in years.